Tuesday, December 29, 2009

For 2010, resolve to invite Mother Nature into your life! Ramp up the wildlife in your backyard! For bird feeder fun: purchase a new feeder and feeding supplies; it may take the birds awhile to find it if you are not already feeding, but they will come if youa. Hang the feeder where birds will be safe from lurking catsb. Place the feeder where birds can alight on nearby shrub, tree or other object and survey the scene before flying to the feederc. Keep feeders clean and supplied with fresh seed, suet, etc.d. Don’t be too tidy – birds enjoy hunting for bugs and seeds among leaf litter under shrubs, etc.e. You can squirrel-proof your feeder but why not enjoy the squirrels too?

Add a freeze-proof birdbath; yes they make them with heaters or pumps that keep the water moving! Again, keep it clean and full! Keep a brush pile for the enjoyment of the birds and rabbits. If space allows, add plants known to attract birds and butterflies to your garden.

Before the current cold spell our yard was visited by hundreds of robins! Now white-winged doves are vying with the songbirds for spaces at the feeders. Buy a bird book if you don’t already have one so you can identify your visitors.

Want to go further afield? When warmer weather comes you can enjoy wildflowers, butterflies, dragonflies and more! Check out the parks in your area. Take your new bird book along, and binoculars if you have them. Visit the new Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas. Be a regular at Hagerman NWR! Explore each of the five trails at the Refuge for a variety of habitat and wildlife. Enjoy the Second Saturday nature programs and for youngsters, the new Second Saturday series for Youth, beginning January 9, at 10 a.m. in the Visitor Center. See you there!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sunday evening we took part in what for many families is a holiday tradition, a visit to Hagerman NWR to see the geese. Not our first trip out this season, by a long shot, but the first one with family members along.

Our son drove us all in his roomy pick-up and once at the Refuge, grandsons and daughter-in-law scrambled into the truck bed armed with binoculars and cameras. My birder husband relayed bird ID to the back of the truck as we slowly rolled along Wildlife Drive, stopping frequently for photos and just goose-gazing!

We were thrilled by birds on the wing as well, ducks, herons and the geese. We were not thrilled by a couple of vehicles blowing by well over the posted speed limit of 20 mph, raising a terrible cloud of dust. Our younger grandson even put a tech-edge on the experience, figuring out how to shoot pictures on his cell-phone through the binoculars, producing an interesting but admittedly jumpy video of the Refuge sights.

No one was in a rush to leave, just enjoying the peaceful scene and a sense of being on nature’s timetable, not our own. But too soon dusk arrived and time to move on to other activities, taking our photos and memories with us.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Time once again for the annual Christmas Bird Count. At Hagerman National WIldlife Refuge, birders of all levels of ability are needed for the 2009 count on Saturday, 19 December. Meet at the refuge headquarters, 6465 Refuge Rd., Sherman, TX, at 7:00 AM to divide into teams. Anyone interested in searching for owls is welcome to meet Dr. Wayne Meyer at the headquarters building at 4:45 AM. The Friends of Hagerman NWR will be hosting a compilation social at 5:00 PM. All participants are encouraged to attend as the day’s results are added. If you want to participate you can just show up on count day, but it would help in planning if you let Dr. Meyer know you’ll be coming ahead of time. He can be reached at wmeyer@austincollege.edu or you can leave voice mail at 903-813-2254.

Reporting for the 2008 count, Dr. Meyer said "The count wasn’t blessed with as many interesting species as 2007 but we got 112 species this year, which is a very high count in comparison to several of the previous years. Probably because of the number of participants, we managed to see pretty much everything that was around this year, only one species was found on the count circle during count week that wasn’t located on count day (Lincoln’s Sparrow). You can see our results at the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count page (and the results of previous years) athttp://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/. A summary of the count for this year is also included below.

Our most unusual species was Barn Owl, our first since 1992. We also got Fish Crow, two on the Oklahoma side of the circle. We set record high numbers for Bufflehead, Common Loon, Great Egret, Cooper's Hawk, Barn Owl, Downy Woodpecker, Pine Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow and Vesper Sparrow. We had 21 participants, the most we've had in many years, plus we got 6 feeder watchers to join in.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Why do geese fly in a “V” formation? It would be too hard to fly in an “S”... Actually, it conserves energy and makes it easier to keep track of each other.

What is a gaggle? A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle or flock . A skein is a group in flight, and if flying in a “V” formation, they are called a wedge.

A nickname for the Canada goose is “the honker”.

Have your ducks in a row? You might have a:Brace of ducks - a pair; Flock of ducks – on the ground; Flush of ducks – taking flight; Paddling of ducks or raft of ducks - group swimming; Team of ducks – group in flight

If you’ve heard one quack…you haven’t heard them all – most species have their own quack and male and females may have different quacks.

A goose or duck by any other name is:Baby ducks-ducklings; Baby geese- goslings; Male ducks- drakes; Male geese- ganders

Eggs laid are called a clutch – may be 10 – 20 in a clutch

Certified swimmers – goslings and ducklings can swim when they ready to fledge.

Diving ducks are found on oceans, seas and inland water; dabblers are found on creeks and inland pools.

Want the lowdown on “down” – the small, soft feathers that provide insulation for birds, and when collected, for man. Down from Eider ducks is believed to be superior.

On Saturday, December 12, at 10 a.m., Dr. Wayne Meyer and Rick Cantu will show you the “Waterfowl at Hagerman NWR”, with a slide presentation and field trip! See you there!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

It has just been announced that Hagerman NWR Assistant Manager Rick Cantu won a Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR camera with a 28-135 IS USM lens for the Refuge in the recent USFWS Region 2 Photo Contest. His entry of a Great Egret in Action Fishing won the GRAND PRIZE which was the camera and lens valued at about $1,500. Congratulations and a big Thank You to Rick.

Friends member Grace Haight has also garnered two contest awards recently, Honorable Mention in the NWRA 2009 Photo Contest, http://www.refugeassociation.org/contest/2009winners.htmland 3rd place in th Seney National Wildlife Refuge Photo Contest, in Michigan's upper peninsula, with the photograph of a Trumpeter Swan and her cygnets entitled "Looking after my Little Ones".

Hagerman NWR and the Friends of Hagerman are sponsoring the first annual Refuge Photo Contest, in 2010. entries will be accepted from January 3, - March 1, 2010. For contest info and entry form, see NEWS page for http://www.friendsofhagerman.com/